


Family

by Decaykid



Category: All New X-Factor, Marvel, Uncanny Avengers
Genre: Alcohol, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-22
Updated: 2015-01-22
Packaged: 2018-03-08 16:13:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3215420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Decaykid/pseuds/Decaykid
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In a time of mourning, people often come together to share the burden of loss.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Family

"Hey, you were great out there," Polaris takes advantage of their moment alone. It's as hard to catch a moment with a speedster as you'd imagine. "I'm..." she hesitates, covers it by reaching for a glass on a nearby shelf. "I'm glad you're on the team." She smiles as she says it, realizing she means it. However Pietro doesn't seem to share the sentiment. He frowns, and she thinks she sees the ghost of a tremor pass through his lips.

She mentally kicks herself. It's just another reminder that their relationship is nothing more than a title, a facade. They aren't as close as they seem. It always felt like hard work, trying to maintain her relationship with Pietro, however Wanda made it look so easy. Maybe it is when you grow up together.

"I'm sorry, I didn't... mean to upset you. And I'm glad you're here. That's what I meant."

He turns away from her and the action seems so slow compared to his normally blurred movements. She frowns at his back and wonders if it'll ever be easier. Wonders if she'll ever be able to just take one look at him and know why he's shaking.

Wait... shaking?

Her frown deepens as she quickly crosses the short distance between them. She stands at his side, places a hand on his shoulder.

"Pietro?"

"I meant what I said earlier." He turns his head to look at her. Lorna quickly removes her hand. There's a look in his eyes that reminds her of their father.

"What do you mean?" She hates how thin her voices sounds. He switches positions again, now leaning against the counter, his arms crossed in front of himself, eyes lost somewhere in the tiled floor.

"Leaving. If you don't need me."

"Pietro, I-"

"Do not patronize me, Lorna!! I know I am not the fastest or most efficient. I just screw things up. Like I did with her, and now she doesn't need me anymore."

Lorna watches as her brother seems to deflate. Her eyebrows knit together, perplexed. Her?

"Pietro, who are you talking about?"

"All of them!" He chokes out, features twisted in grief. Blurring at the edges, his hands move about as if searching for something.

"Crystal. Luna. Wanda. They're gone, because of me. They don't need me anymore. No one needs me. Not Father. Not the Avengers. Not a rag-tag team of X-Men." One hand has tangled itself in his hair, it's tight grip ruining the careful style. The other is braced against the counter, knuckle white as he steadies himself.

"I have no one." His voice cracks and something glistens down his face. It's too much for Lorna. She moves awkwardly, unsure if she should hug him, but the moment she wraps her arms around him, he leans into it. She rocks on her heels, he's heavier than she expected.

With her hands on his back, she can feel his sobs reverberate through him, feel his warm breath between sobs, his tears dampening her clothes. She stands there, unsure how to console him as her meant-to-be encouraging words are what set this off in the first place. She rubs small circles into his back, waiting for him to calm down as another question surfaces.

"Pietro, you said the Avengers don't need you. Is that why you left?"

A dizzying blur moves before her and she's starring at his back again. For a brief moment she wonders how he can act so cold like he wasn't just holding unto her, crying. Then she realizes he's not being cold, just stubborn. She reaches out, placing her hand on his arm before slowly moving into his line of vision.

"Pietro, we're on the same team now. We need to trust one another. That means there can't be any secrets between us," she places her hands on his shoulders, "I need to know why you left the Avengers." His gaze falls to the floor, downcast and Lorna knows he just needs a bit more persuading.

"Look, is this because you think they don't need you? Pietro, we all have those days when we feel bad about ourse-"

Her voice falters as his eyes meet hers again. Something dark lurks beneath the surface. Thoughts of M-Day and Terrigan Mists begin to circle her mind.

"She's gone."

"Pietro, what are you talking about?" But she has a creeping suspicion. She suppresses a shutter.

"They thought she was going to do it again."

"No. Pietro..."

"Wolverine sent Rogue to finish what he started."

"N-No. She... T-They..." She shakes her head, her mouth losing the ability to form words. She swallows down the urge to vomit. Pietro places his hands over hers, as though he knows her knees feel like they may give out.

"Oh god, Pietro." She chokes out, finding it hard to breathe. He pulls her against him, arms strong and firm against her trembling body.

"They've been wanting to do this for a while now. Ever since," a hesitation," M-Day." His voice sounds worn, tired. Lorna forces herself to breathe, pushing the air through her tightening throat.

"I wasn't there to protect her." He speaks in a detached whisper, his words are warm in her ear but spread like ice through her body. Still unable to speak, she simply wraps her arms around him once again. As the two embrace she realizes they can only overcome this together.

Moments pass she she comes back into herself, although she feels as though a part of her got left behind on the way back. She pulls away from Pietro. Placing a hand on either side of his face she looks at him and feels as though she's seeing him for the first time. He looks tired and worn, vulnerable even, without his usual confidence and vibrato.

"You know what? I think we deserve to go out and get shit faced drunk."

He frowns and she can feel the pull of muscle beneath her hands.

"I do not know Lorna. The last time you were drunk in public..." his voice trails off as he adverts his eyes. She smiles and shrugs.

"So we stay in and drink."

"But we-"

"You're a speedster. You can run out and get some. No one will notice."

"But I-"

"Here, follow me. I know the rest of you haven't been paid for our first mission yet, however I have a secret account."

He barely opens his mouth before she explains," Being team leader has it's perks." He gives her a simple nod as she drags him to her room. Once they enter, she asks him to stay just inside the door and turn away.

"It's not that I don't trust you, Pietro. It's that I don't trust... others. I shouldn't have even told you about it. However, this account is for emergencies and we are having a family emergency."

She slips the cash into his hand.

"I don't really care what you get. Just go light on the tequila. That shit makes me go crazy."

Pietro just stares at the wad of cash in his hand.

"Pietro..." she sighs, placing a hand on his shoulder. "It's okay. I promise."

A breeze pulls her hair away. She moves to her bed, sitting on top of the blankets and settles into the pillows. She lets out a sigh as another breeze whips through the room. Pietro is sitting next to her and an assortment of alcohol is between them. She says nothing as she reaches for a beer, snaps it open and eagerly chugs a few gulps. She settles back into the pillows, happily waiting for it to take its effect.

Lorna absentmindedly nurses her beverage as she looses herself in her thoughts. It isn't until her third beer that Pietro breaks the silence.

"I haven't seen her since we found her back home in Wungadore with Doom."

It takes her foggy brain a moment to catch on.

"Doom, eh? What was that like?"

Lorna hardly caught any of the story. Pietro seems to be talking a bit faster than normal, or maybe the alcohol is slowing down her hearing, but she notices he keeps mentioning "Billy".

"Who's that?" She asks when she hears the name again. Pietro simply arches an eyebrow at her. She sighs.

"Billy. You keep mentioning him. Who is he?"

"You've no idea who Billy and Tommy are?" He looks alarmed and her mind lazily stirs but no recollection comes. She shakes her head, doing so makes her dizzy.

"They're Wanda's boys," he explains, smiling fondly. Her eyes widen.

"I have nephews?"

"Mmhmm." He replies into his beverage.

"Wait... how-"

"They're reincarnations of their original souls."

She gives him an incredulous look and he shrugs.

"You know... magic stuff."

She mouths the word 'oh' as if he'd explained the secrets of the universe. A comfortable silence befalls the pair.

"Pietro?"

"Yes, sister?" A strange warmth fills her.

"I jus' wanted t'say," she struggles to get her tongue to cooperate, the words feeling strange in her mouth, "I'm upset that Wanda died but somethin' good came from it all. It brought us closer t'gether you know? And I'm sure where e'er she is she's shakin' her head at us, but she's smilin', because her brother an' sister are gettin' along. Like a family should be." She ends her speech by finishing off her drink. When Pietro says nothing she looks at him. His eyes are glistening and her fear of possibly having upset him returns, muddled. But he smiles, wrapping her in a warm embrace. He kisses her forehead.

"Thank you for that, Lorna."

"'T's what family's for."


End file.
